Wang Hu had transmigrated into the world of Journey to the West, and he had come back as a tiger — a tiger living at the foot of the Five Elements Mountain, which was the same thing as saying a tiger destined to be skinned by Sun Wukong and cut into a tiger-skin skirt.
He spent his first days desperately trying to recall the plot of Journey to the West, hoping to find in it a sliver of survival. At this moment there were still a hundred days before Tang Sanzang would arrive at the Five Elements Mountain. Once the monk appeared and Sun Wukong was released from under the stone, the first one to be dealt with would be him.
Even more despairing, the Bodhisattva Guanyin's disciples were already secretly protecting Tang Sanzang, so there was no chance of ambushing him somewhere along the road. So Wang Hu turned his gaze toward the Five Elements Mountain itself, where a faint Buddhist light radiated from the seal. As a twenty-first-century tiger, he still had to find some way to become sworn brothers with the Great Sage.
He used all his strength to climb halfway up the small mountain. Suddenly, from behind a large rock not far away, he heard a voice talking.
"Little tiger over there. Come here."
He panicked and instinctively stepped back a few paces, then quickly regained his composure. He scrambled up and ran toward the back of the rock, where there was a small cave.
A monkey head peeked out and looked at him. Wang Hu carefully raised his tiger claws and stepped forward.
"Are you the one who stormed heaven, stole the elixirs, ate the peaches, and once said, 'The Jade Emperor should take his turn like everyone else — next year it is my turn at his house'?"
The monkey head looked a little embarrassed upon hearing this. "Heh heh. Old stories. Don't bring them up."
Wang Hu froze for a moment before confirming that this was indeed the world of Journey to the West. Then he should also be able to cultivate immortal techniques, and not simply remain a wild beast for the rest of his life. He steadied his mind and tried to ask, "Great Sage, how long have you been trapped under the Five Elements Mountain?"
"Old Monkey has been pressed here for nearly five hundred years." Sun Wukong said it while looking up at the distant clouds, his eyes revealing a trace of longing.
Wang Hu was shocked. So it was almost time for Sun Wukong to break free from the seal, and the journey to the west would soon begin. Suddenly he remembered that after escaping the Five Elements Mountain, the first thing Sun Wukong did was kill a tiger that had tried to eat Tang Sanzang. He lowered his head and looked at himself.
Within a hundred li, there seemed to be only one tiger. Him.
Could it be me? he thought. Thinking about it, it became more and more likely, and he could not help cursing inwardly. Could I really end up as Sun Wukong's tiger-skin skirt?
At that moment, Sun Wukong spoke. "Hey, little tiger. Can you do old Monkey a favor?"
Wang Hu was still in a daze when he suddenly snapped back and turned to look at the Great Sage. He had not expected Sun Wukong to need his help.
"Old Monkey has been pressed here for five hundred years and hasn't eaten anything," Sun Wukong said. "Can you pick me some peaches over there so I can take a bite?"
Looking into the distance, in the mountain valley, there was a peach tree heavily laden with fruit. Sun Wukong's eyes were full of longing.
"All right. The Great Sage orders it. Even if it's mountains of blades or seas of fire, I'll do it."
Wang Hu had been a fan of Sun Wukong since childhood, so having the chance to help his idol was naturally something he could not ask for more. He stretched out his tiger claw, picked a peach, and held it up to the monkey's mouth.
At this moment Sun Wukong was completely pinned under the mountain, with only his monkey head exposed. Wang Hu served him wholeheartedly.
"Delicious. So delicious. Old Monkey hasn't eaten anything this tasty in five hundred years."
"Does the Great Sage want more? Should I pick more for you?" Wang Hu said this while wagging his tail, looking as flattering as a tiger could look. On one hand, Sun Wukong was his idol. On the other hand, his own future path of cultivation would depend on this monkey. Maybe if he was happy he would teach him the Seventy-Two Transformations, and then he would be rich.
Sun Wukong licked his lips, clearly still craving more, but finally shook his head and looked him up and down. "Little tiger, for five hundred years I've only seen monks and nuns. How did you get up here?"
"I just climbed up." Wang Hu pointed his claw toward the way he had come, confused. "There was nothing blocking me."
Sun Wukong still unwillingly asked again, and Wang Hu scratched his tiger head, not understanding why he kept asking. Suddenly Sun Wukong's eyes flashed with a golden light that swept over him. In an instant Wang Hu felt himself completely seen through, and he retreated in fear.
"You actually have no demonic power," Sun Wukong said, his eyes wide.
"Maybe not yet," Wang Hu replied uncertainly. He had only been in this Journey to the West world for three days. How could he have cultivated any demon power?
"No wonder. No wonder. A tiger that has awakened intelligence but not cultivated demon power. Old Monkey's opportunity has arrived." He became excited. "Little tiger, do you want to cultivate into a demon?"
Wang Hu quickly nodded. This was exactly what he had wished for. But he still asked again. "Great Sage, do you really want to teach me cultivation techniques and take me as your disciple?"
"Disciple? Master? Old Monkey hates those things. From now on you are my brother. Don't call me Great Sage. Call me Monkey Brother."
"Monkey Brother, do you really want to teach me?" Wang Hu immediately took advantage of it and moved closer, asking ingratiatingly.
"You talk too much. If you make me angry, I won't teach you anymore," Sun Wukong said irritably.
"Don't! Monkey Brother, whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it. I'll listen to you." Wang Hu hurriedly picked another peach and handed it to his mouth, flattering him.
Sun Wukong then directly began reciting a cultivation technique. Wang Hu's head spun as he listened. The technique was too profound and too hard to understand. Seeing his expression, Sun Wukong chuckled.
"It's fine. This Eighty-Nine Mystic Art is very profound. When my master taught me, I was the same. Just memorize it first, and I'll explain it slowly later."
"Monkey Brother, is this the Eighty-Nine Mystic Art?" Wang Hu was extremely excited inside. The Eighty-Nine Mystic Art — that was the top body-refining technique of the Daoist school in Journey to the West. Things like the heavenly body transformation, the indestructible diamond body, immunity to water and fire, were all manifestations of its peak cultivation.
"Yes, it is the Eighty-Nine Mystic Art. Old Monkey doesn't know any other techniques anyway." Sun Wukong rolled his eyes.
Wang Hu was instantly overjoyed, not expecting to obtain the Eighty-Nine Mystic Art so easily, and even to become sworn brothers with Sun Wukong. What greater fortune could there be?
Five days later, beneath the Five Elements Mountain, Sun Wukong looked up and anxiously asked him again and again, "How is it? Have you memorized it?"
Wang Hu opened his eyes, a trace of joy flashing within them. "Monkey Brother, I've memorized it. Can I start real cultivation now?"
"Why so impatient? First, go pick me a peach."
Wang Hu immediately ran over, picked a peach, and brought it back to Sun Wukong.
"Not for me to eat. It's for you," Sun Wukong said, reluctantly shifting his gaze away from the fruit.
Wang Hu did not understand what he meant. Could it be that he wanted him to go vegetarian in the future?
"This peach was grown from a flat peach seed I brought down from heaven. Although five hundred years have passed and its spiritual energy has mostly dissipated, it is still a flat peach. Decide for yourself."
Hearing such an impressive origin, Wang Hu swallowed hard and looked at the peach with shining eyes. He no longer hesitated, and devoured it greedily.
"But remember, after eating, immediately circulate the Eighty-Nine Mystic Art to refine essence into qi. Don't waste the spiritual energy," Sun Wukong reminded him.
"Monkey Brother, I remember."
At that moment his body also began reacting, a warm energy surging wildly inside it, his body feeling stretched and swollen. He no longer cared about anything else and immediately began cultivating according to the Eighty-Nine Mystic Art.